Nut-lock.



Patented Oct. 2|, I902.-

F. CAVALLARO.

NUT LUCK (Application filed (No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCISCO CAVALLARO, OF SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA.

NUT-LOCK.

SFECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 71 1,823, dated October21, 1902.

Application filed March 17, 1902. Serial No. 98,497. (No model.)

To alZ whmn it nuty concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCISCO CAVAL- LARO, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at San Jose, county of Santa Clara, State ofCalifornia, have invented an Improvement in Nut-Locks; and I herebydeclare the follow: iug to be a full, clear, and exact description ofthe same. a

My invention relates to a nut-locking device which is especiallydesigned for secur-- ing fish-plates by which the meeting ends ofrailway-rails are united and in such a manner as to prevent the nutsjarring off by the pulsations of passing trains, and thus loosening theconnection, while at the same timethe device has sufficient play toallow the expansion and contraction.

It consists of the parts and the constructions and combinations of partshereinafter described and claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective viewof my nut-lock. Fig. 2 isatransverse section. Fig. 3 isafront view of aportion of a fish-plate, showing the the bolt in section. Fig. 4 is aview of a nut. Fig. 5 is a front view of a washer.

A is a railway-rail, and B is a fish-plate, such as are employed toconnect the rails by overlapping the joints where the rails meet uponeach side of the vertical webs thereof, said fish-plates being boltedthrough the said webs. It is difficult to maintain these joints, becausethe constant pulsation and jar of passing trains causes the bolts ornuts to turn and become loosened.

It is the object of my invention to so look the nuts upon the bolts andwith relation to the fish-plates as to prevent this loosening.

The fish-plates B may be made either of cast-steel, and, if so made, thebolt-holes are usually formed at the same time by suitable cores in themolds, these bolt-holes being a little elongated in the direction ofthelength of the plate. If formed in this manner, the corrugations orindentations 2, which are formed in the plate, may be also thus cast,and thus the eiipense of forming the plate preparatory for myimprovements is no greater than if the plate be formed plain. Thesecorrugations are here shown as radial to boltholes 3 and may bepreferably slightly divergent outwardly, with rounded ends, althoughthis is not absolutely essential. If the plates are rolled and the holesafterward punched,

the indentations 2 may be made at the same time that the holes arepunched by a suitable die.

in the rails and plates and the nuts screwed onto the threaded end ofthe bolt on the opposite side from the heads. It will be understood thatthe fish-plates may either fit against the vertical webs of the rails,with their lower edges resting against the divergent base-flanges of therails,or the fish-plates may be turned at the bottom and extendoutwardly, resting upon the rail-flanges, either form being adapted tothe use of myinvention. The vertical portion of the fish-plate isslightly concaved on the side next the web of the rail, leaving theupper and lower partscontacting with the web, and the hole through thefish-plate being made through the concaved portion or about centrallybetween the top and bottom there will be a certain amount of spring tothis portion of the fish-plate when the nut has been turned down so thatits elevations begin to come in contact with those of the corrugationson the fish-plate, so that when by the aid of the wrench the nut isturned to cause these corrugations to pass each other the slight springin the fish-plate will be sulfi- .cient to allow them to pass withoutcutting each other away, and the return of the fishplate to its normalposition when the corrugations of one coincide with the depressions ofthe other will prevent their turning backward in passing. In addition tothis the bolt is further tightened in the nut as follows:

The bolts used for this class of work are formed withoppositely-projecting lugs 7 just beneath the head 8, and as the hole 3,through which the bolt passes, is slightly elongated it will be seenthat these lugs, which pass through the hole in the direction of itslength, will when the nut is turned be forced around with the bolt untilthe contact with the shorter diameter of the hole 3, and this pre ventsthe bolt from being turned while the nut is beingscrewed down. After thenut has been turned to pass one or two of the corrugations of thefish-plate and to be engaged therewith, as previously described, any jarupon the bolt will cause it to turn in the opposite direction-that is,so that the lugs 7, which have been turned as far as possible in onedirection withinthe hole 3, may be turned in the opposite directionuntil they contact with the opposite sides of the hole, as shown in Fig.3. This turn advances the screw-threads of the bolt into the nut, andthus draws the nut a little closer into the corrugations of thefish-plate. This result can be attained immediately by striking one ortwo blows of the hammer upon the head of the bolt after the nut has beenseated by the wrench, and these blows will cause the bolt to turnbackwardly, and thus become as tight as is desirable with relation tothe rail and fish-plates. The elongation of the slots in the plates issufficient to allow for the usual expansion and contraction of the railsby heat and cold.

When the old style of smooth fish-plate is used and it is founddesirable to use Washers between the nuts and the fish-plates, thewashers are made as shown at 9, having corrugations upon one side only,and the corrugations upon this side engage with those upon the nut, sothat when the nut is turned down the smooth surface of the washer willcontact with the fiat surface of the fish-plate and the nut will engagethe corrugations on the outer face of the washer. "When the washer isthus employed, it is prevented from turning by means of an extension 10upon one side, this extension having a base of considerable length whichis adapted to rest upon the railfiange or upon the outwardly projectingflange of the fish-plate, if such a one is made.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. The combination in a nut-lock of plates having bolt-holes, and one ofsaid plates having corrugations or indentations radiating outwardly fromthe bolt-hole, corresponding corrugations formed upon the end of the nutand adapted to engage the corrugations of the plate when the nut isscrewed on, and a bolt passing through the holes and having lugs formedbeneath the head acting as stops to K limit the turning of the boltwithin its holes.

2. The combination in a nut-lock of elastic plates slightly concaved incross-section and having holes made therethrough, one of said plateshaving radial corrugations formed upon the outer face around the hole, abolt passing through the parts to be secured and having lugs formedbeneath the head to act as stops for limiting the axial movement of thebolt within its holes, and a nut adapted to screw upon said bolt andhaving corrugations to engage and interlock with those in the plate,substantially as herein described.

'3. A nut-lock consisting of plates fitting upon opposite sides of theparts to be secured having elongated holes madethrough them,corrugations radiating from said holes, bolts having lugs formed beneaththe heads acting as stops to limit the turning of the bolt within theholes, nuts adapted to screw upon the threaded opposite ends of thebolts, and having the inner ends corrugated to engage the corrugationsupon the plate, the bolt being also turnable backwardly until the lugscontact with the opposite sides of the opening whereby the not will bedrawn farther upon the bolt.

4. The combination in a nut-lock of plates having bolt-holes madetherethrough and adapted to clamp the parts to be secured, corrugationsformed radially about the boltholes, bolts passing through said holeshaving heads upon one end, said bolts having lugsformed beneath theheads and to engage the bolt-holes to limit the turning of the bolt, andscrew-threads upon the opposite ends, nuts fitting said screw-threadshaving the inner ends corrugated and washers interposed between the nutsand the plates, said washers having one surface corrugated to engage thenut-corrugations, and an extension upon one side of the Washer.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

FRANCISCO CAVALLARO. Witnesses:

I. L. KOPPEL, C. M. LORIGAN, B. G. TAYLOR.

